Flying machine



F. J. BAUME FLYING MACHINE Oct. 23, 1934.

Filed Dec. 27, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. FeA/vK J.BAUME.

AT ORNEYS.

F. J. BAUME FLYING MACHINE Oct. 23, 1934.

Filed Dec. 27, 1933' 3 Sheets-Sheet' 2 INVENTOR. FRANK J. Baa/Ma Oct. 23, 1934. F. J. BAUME FLYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 27, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. BY FRANK J. BAUME M ORNEYS. i

Patented Oct. 23, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE FLYING MACHINE Frank J. Baume, Los Angeles, Calif. Application December 27, 1933, Serial No. 704,199

6 Claims. (01. 244-14) This invention relates to flying machines.

Certain objects of the invention are to provide a machine the general design and construction of which are such as will materially reduce its resistance to the air and thus enable the machine to be operated at higher speed and at greater altitudes than was possible heretofore with machines of the prior art; to provide means whereby the machine can be safely operated at any speed and at all altitudes; to provide a machine which will combine simplicity with lightness and great strength; to provide means for more effectively maintaining the lateral balance of the machine; to provide a machine the construction of which will necessitate the use of less structural materials than was heretofore deemed necessary; to provide means that will result in the creation of several novel safety factors and which will enable the machine to take off from or land in places where the space for such purpose would be wholly inadequate in thehandling of heavier-than-air machines of the prior art; to provide means for greatly increasing the area of the sustaining or supporting surface of the machine and for causing same to follow more or less closely the streamline contour or longitudinal camber of the fuselage of the structure, thus greatly increasing the carrying capacity of the machine while decreasing the resistance of the surfaces to the air; to provide a power plant and a propeller driving system wherein the parts are positioned relatively to each other and their weight distributed at such places throughout the body as will insure a proper balance of the machine at any flying angle; to provide means whereby the horizontal stabilizers will be automatically controlled; to provide a body, the streamline contour of which is such that the lifting and dragging effect of the air currents upon the body and the sustaining or supporting surfaceswill be just as effective at either side of the machine as from the front thereof; to provide in the organization a system of propellers in which the angle of incidence can be changed while the machine is in flight as may be necessary when the machine is flying at certain speeds and at different altitudes; to provide at the meeting point of oppositely moving air currents an effective system of air deflectors and a co-acting propeller, the latter functioning to apply an efiective force in a downward direction against the air such as will cause the machine to readily rise; to provide in the organization means for readily withdrawing into the body of the machine the landing gear as soon as the machine has taken off; to provide means whereby the horizontal propeller may be readily withdrawn into the body or projected from the machine, as and when desired; to provide means and a system of propellers which mutually function to act upon the air in a manner that will cause a conflict and deflection of air currents at a point in the vertical line of thrust of a lifting propeller, whereby to create a condition beneath the lifting propeller that will render it highly effective in its action upon the disturbed or deflected air currents; and to provide other desirable features which will be readily apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the machine;

Figure 2 is an inverted perspective view thereof;

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 1';

Figure 4 is a section on line-4--4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure '1; 1'

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the operating position of the lifting propeller;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the machine with parts broken away and parts in section;

Figure 9 is a section taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 3;

Figure 10 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the machine, showing the relationship of the upper and lower air deflectors to the lifting 8 propeller; 7

Figure 11 is a vertical section through a portion of the bodyof the machine showing the lifting propeller and the power transmission means therefor; 7

Figure 12 is a section on line 12-12 of Figure 11.

In carrying the invention intopractice, I employ an elongated fuselage or body 5 whose cover structure 6 is of streamline form from the nose N to the tail T of the machine, and, as illustrated, said fuselage is provided with a supporting wing '7 having a longitudinal camber which, to a substantial degree, more or less follows the longitudinal camber of the cover structure from the nose N to the said tail T thereof. The length of the wing is approximately co-extensive with that of the body structure 6 and the smaller or transverse dimension of the wing is such as to provide substantially identical lateral sustaining surfaces 8-8 at the opposite sides of the fuselage. Medially of the'lateral sustaining surfaces 88 of the wing is a lower longitudinal stabilizer 9, the latter extending from the aforesaid nose N to the said tail T of the machine, and, as shown in Fig- 110 ures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the said lateral surfaces 8-8 of the wing extend along straight lines from the sides of said stabilizer 9 to the longitudinal and substantially relatively parallel edges E-E of said cover structure 6. As illustrated, the longitudinal stabilizer 9 is V-shaped in transverse section, but I of course do not wish to be limited in this respect. All of the surfaces of the combined fuselage and wing structure thus far described merge gradually into each other so as to offer a minimum resistance to the air when the machine is in flight, and they effectively coact with other important features and safety factors of the invention, to the end that a very strong and durable body structure may be provid- M ed, one which is of exceedingly light weight be cause of the small number of; structural parts employed, and one which will enable the machine to be safely operated at higher speeds and greater altitudes than was heretofore possible with heavier-than-air machines of the prior art. In Figure 1 of the drawings, I have illustrated by the arrows at the relative movements of air from the nose N to the tail T of the machine. In Figure 3, I illustrate by the arrows b the relative movements of the air from one edge E of the cover structure to the corresponding edge of the structure, or from one side of the machine to the other side thereof, and I show further, in this figure, the approximate functional effect of the transverse camber of the cover structure upon the upper laterally moving currents of air and the functional action of the longitudinal stabilizing fin 9 uponthe lower laterally moving air currents. From the fact that the longitudinal camber of the supporting surface of the wing follows closely the longitudinal camber of the cover structure of the fuselage, plus the fact that the lateral air currents act upon the surfaces as herein illustrated, it follows that I have taken into consideration all those possible conditions of wind pressure and anism by means of which the angle of incidence of the machine may be changed when and as desired by the operator. A propeller mechanism such as the one shown in U. S. Letters Patent to J. G. Bauer, No. 1,036,781, dated September 2,

1910, will be found entirely suitable for the purpose herein proposed.

The-shafts 13-13 and 14-14 are provided with vertical propellers 17 and those on the shafts l3 and 14 at the aft end of the: machine are of the variable pitch type whose pitch may be reversed in landing. Mechanism of the kind disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,782,167, granted November 18, 1930, to C. K. Greene, may be used and will prove entirely satisfactory. The propeller 16 is situated at the nose N of the fuselage and the propellers 17 are arranged so as to comprise two longitudinal series near the lateral margins of the supporting wing, and as illustrated, they I operate in slots formed in said wing. Their positions in the slots are such that their driving actions are rendered effective both above'and be- 1 low the lateral sustaining surfaces 8-8. The

lines of thrust'of the parallel series of propellers 17 are thus at the opposite sides of a longitudinal; line drawn from the nose N to the tail T of the machine, While the line of thrust of the propeller 16 falls squarely on said longitudinal line at the nose N.

The tail assembly of the machine consists of the laterally situated horizontal elevators 20, the same preferably formed as a part of the wing; an upper vertical stabilizer 21 medially of the aft part of the cover structure; and a vertical rudder 22, the latter forming, so to speak, a continuation of said stabilizer 21.

Within the front part of the body of the ma- ,chineisa laterally tiltable pilots seat 28. Movable through passageways 24 in the longitudinal edges of the wings 7 are horizontal stabilizers 25.

I These stabilizers are mounted to pivot horizontally at 26 and each is connected by a link system 27 to the supporting shaft of its respective seat 28. It follows, because of this construction of the horizontalstabilizers and the manner of connecting peller, the same fixed" to the lower end of a hollow tubular shaft section 30. This shaft section is slidably and rotatably journaled in a bracket 31'which is offset into the wing so as to allow for the formation in the wing of a compartment 32 in which the propeller may be housed when adjusted to the dotted line position shown in Figure 11; 'I render this movement possible by forming. a grooved collar 33 on the hollow shaft 30and operatively connecting same with the rocking arm 34 of a control mechanism 35, the latter including a manually actuated rod 36 which may extend into the operators compartment of the machine so that it can be actuated whenever desired. The compartment 32 for the accommodation of the propeller 29 opens onto the longitudinal stabilizer 9 at a point about at the vertical center of gravity of the machine, or in line with the vertical center of thrust of the propeller 29. When the propeller occupies the aforesaid dotted line position shown in Figure .130

11, it will be entirely concealed within its compartment by meansof the swinging doors 37-37 forming portions of the angular sides of the longitudinal stabilizer. Power may be supplied to the propeller 29 through a transmission mechanism 38, the same including a driven gear pinion 39 on the shaft section 40, the latter having operative driving connection with the shaft section 30, as shown.

Positioned at the opposite sides of the longitudinal stabilizer 9 and beneath the wing 7 are transversely disposed air deflectors 40-40, as shown in Figures 2, 7, 8 and 10. Above the wing and in substantially vertical alinement with the deflectors 40 are similar air deflectors 41-41. The deflectors 40-40 each consist of rigid plates 42 and 43, hinged at 44 to the wing so that they may be folded either to the overlapped dotted line positions shown in Figure 10 or to the relatively diverging full-line positions shown in said figure.

The plates 42 have pins 45 which extend into the elongated guide slots 46 in the mating plates 43. It is because of this construction that when motion in an opening or closing direction is set up in one of the plates, it will result in a corresponding motion being imparted to the other said plate.

A lever arm 46 at the pivotal point 44 has operative connection with an actuating rod 47, whereby the plates 42 and 43 can be readily controlled from the operators compartment of the machine.

The upper transverse deflectors 41 each consist of mating, angularly adjustable plates 48 and 49, hinged at 50 to the body structure above the wing '7. As shown in Figure 10, they are connected with the respective arms of a rocker 51 through the links 52, and the rocker connects with a control rod 53 which runs to the said operators compartment of the machine. After the machine has been raised a sufiicient distance above the ground, as when taking off, it follows that the lifting propeller 29 may be lowered as shown in full lines in Figure 10, at which time it may be thrown into action so as to act effectively upon the highly confused currents which I cause to be induced in the line of thrust of the propeller, thus causing the machine to rise with considerable rapidity. It is to be borne in mind that all of the propellers 17 which are located in front of the deflectors 40 and 41 and also the propeller 16 will function when taking off or in landing to create driving forces in the direction of the horizontal lifting propeller, and that all of the propellers 1'7 which are situated in back of the said deflectors 40 and 41 may, because they are of the variable pitch type, be adjusted so that driving forces will be exerted in a forward direction. It is because of this functional action of the respective propellers and the relationship of the propellers to the upper and lower air deflectors 40 and 41, that the air currents are brought into conflict with each other beneath the wing of the machine and also above same, and as a result thereof the horizontal propeller 29 functions in a highly beneficial manner to effect a prompt lifting of the machine when taking off. These respective propellers may also be brought into action when landing the machine, and the propellers 17 both at the front and at the rear of the deflectors 40 and 41 may be relied upon so as to brake the forward motion of the machine. This enables one to land at places where the space would ordinarily be considered insufficient.

The landing gear consists of forwardly positioned vertically swinging ground-engaging wheels 54 and rearwardly positioned ground-engaging wheels 55. These wheels 54 and 55 may be moved into or out of the body of the machine at the will of the operator. The wing structure is formed with openings 56 in order that the wheels may be adjusted to either one of the positions referred to. These openings may be closed by cover plates 5'7 when the wheels are adjusted to inactive position in the body of the machine.

What is claimed is:

1. A flying machine having a supporting wing; a system of propellers co-operable with the wing for producing forwardly moving currents of air along lanes respectively overlying and underlying the wing and rearwardly moving currents of air along lanes respectively overlying and underlying said wing; means located in the lanes of travel of the overlying air currents for diverting the currents in an upward direction; means located in the lanes of travel of the underlying air currents for diverting same in a downward direction; and a horizontal lifting propeller at the diverting point of the underlying air current.

2. A flying machine having a supporting wing; a system of propellers co-operable with the wing for producing forwardly moving currents of air along lanes respectively overlying and underlying the wing from the rear end of the latter and rear- Wardly moving currents of air along lanes respectively overlying and underlying the wing from positions in the direction of the front end thereof; means located in the lanes of travel of the overlying air currents for diverting same in an upward direction so as to exert a lifting force upon the wing; means located in the lanes of travel of the underlying currents for diverting same in a downward direction; and a horizontal lifting propeller at the diverting point of the underlying currents, the diverting point of the underlying currents being coaxial in a vertical direction with the diverting point of the overlying currents.

3. A flying machine including a wing structure having a system of vertical propellers including a group of the variable pitch type and adapted when adjusted to one position to act upon the air and to produce moving currents of air whose lanes of travel are in conflict with the lanes of travel of the currents produced by all of the remaining propellers of the system; means at the point of conflict of the currents of air for diverting currents in a downward direction; and a horizontal lifting propeller at the point of diversion of the currents.

4. A flying machine including a wing structure having a system of vertical propellers including a group of the variable pitch type and adapted when adjusted to one position to act upon the air and to produce moving currents of air whose lanes of travel are in conflict with the lanes of travel of the currents produced by all of the remaining propellers of the system; means at the point of rents in a downward direction; a horizontal lifting propeller at the point of diversion of the currents; and means for mounting the lifting propeller for movement to a concealed position within the wing.

5. A flying machine including a sustaining surface, a horizontal lifting propeller beneath the sustaining surface, means above the surface for diverting oppositely moving currents of air in a direction away from the surface; and means beneath the surface for diverting oppositely moving currents of air in a downward direction substantially in the line of the lifting propeller.

6. A flyingmachine including a sustaining surface, a horizontal lifting propeller beneath the sustaining surface, means above the surface for diverting oppositely moving currents of air in a direction away from the surface; and means beneath the surface for diverting oppositely moving FRANK J. BAUME. 

